MUMBAI: Over the last few days, the hot topic of debate on social media has been net neutrality. Even as Indians sent more than 300,000 emails to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in support of net neutrality to ensure equal internet access for all, e-commerce giant Flipkart, has pulled out of its deal with Airtel for its platform Airtel Zero, which allows users to access partner apps sans any data charges.
Flipkart faced a lot of flak on social media platforms on its partnership with Airtel Zero. As a result of this, the company backed out of its deal and has also now committed itself to the larger cause of net neutrality in India.
In an official statement, Flipkart said, “We at Flipkart have always strongly believed in the concept of net neutrality, for we exist because of the Internet. Over the past few days, there has been a great amount of debate, both internally and externally, on the topic of zero rating, and we have a deeper understanding of the implications."
Based on this, the company took the following decisions:
(1) Flipkart ended ongoing discussions with Airtel for their platform Airtel Zero.
(2) The company committed itself to the larger cause of Net Neutrality in India and will be discussing internally the details of actions it would take to support the cause.
(3) Flipkart will also work towards ensuring that the spirit of net neutrality is upheld and applied equally to all companies in India irrespective of the size or the service being offered and there is absolutely no discrimination whatsoever.
As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, stand-up comedy group All India Bakchod (AIB) released a video explaining the concept of net neutrality and its impact if it was denied to users. AIB’s video, which went viral, conveyed the message that Internet was a utility and not a luxury.
To review the concept of net neutrality, the government has created a committee of six members. Indian Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the team's report on net neutrality will be presented in mid-May.
